U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,445 discloses a ratchet action cable cutter which includes a first jaw pivotally coupled to a first actuating handle, a second jaw pivotally coupled to the first jaw and a link pivotally coupled with the two jaws on a common pivot. The link is further pivotally coupled to a second handle. The second jaw has a toothed, semi-circular side. A pawl with two opposing sets of teeth is pivotally supported on the link. The pawl can be pivoted to selectively engage with the teeth of the second jaw teeth in either rotational direction of the second jaw.
While this tool represented a significant improvement over other existing wire cutters and ratchet-action jaw equipped hand tools known at the time, it has been found possible to further improve the performance of this tool.